Despite a COVID-led slump year, K Raheja Corp-owned Shoppers Stop will continue with its expansion plans. The department store chain has already added 5 stores up to now in the current financial year and plans to add 12-15 more over the next 9 months.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Retail Leadership Summit, Venu Nair, MD & CEO of Shoppers Stop said the increase in footfalls in cities has been directly linked to the number of COVID-19 cases the place has seen. “Accordingly, in non-metros, footfalls are close to pre-COVID levels. However, Shoppers Stop is seeing a recovery in sales ahead of recovery in footfalls.
“We are seeing serious shoppers coming in now. As a result of this, the absolute bill values have been much higher and therefore, the recovery of sales has been ahead of recovery in footfalls,” he said.
The company undertook a number of cost-saving measures under the pandemic and Nair believes that the lockdowns provided a good opportunity to reinvent areas that could be streamlined.
“We intend to carry forward some of the steps we took to save costs. These measures helped us become a more efficient and productive organisation,” he stated.
